Game Report: Fights, Goals and Another Loss – Sens Fall 6-2 to Philly

Your Ottawa Senators took on the Philadelphia Flyers tonight hoping to break their three game losing streak. What happened was chaos. Right from the drop of the puck, Ottawa was not ready for the game. From their horrible first period, to a fight-filled third period, Ottawa has now lost all but one game in the month of January.

The first period started off horribly as the Sens were down 2-0 by the 4:14 mark. They were not ready for this game and came out flat. Brian Elliott  allowed two goals on the first three shots of the game and put the team in a deep hole against one of the best team in the league.

Going into the second, the roles seemed to be reversed as Ottawa controlled the play as Philly seemed content with their 2-0 lead. Failing to capitalize on their five-on-three powerplay, Ottawa went down 3-0 as Philly scored on their own five-on-three powerplay moments later. But then, while defending that same penalty kill, Ottawa broke the goose egg as Milan Michalek  got loose on a shorthanded break-a-way and buried one past Sergei Bobrovsky. Then, 80 seconds later, Nick Foligno  brought the Sens within one goal as he banged home a rebound for his eighth of the year.

With the second period ending on a high with two quick goals, there was hope for Ottawa going into the third. But the Flyers came out on a mission and had two goals by the 11:14 mark. Then the wheels came off. The physicality picked up as Jesse Winchester  dropped the gloves with Jeff Carter. Ending up with a powerplay after the tussle, Philly adding one more goal on the PP a minute later to make the score 6-2. Then everybody wanted to fight. Even 5’9″ Ryan Shannon  went after Daniel Briere. Then the ever-so-rare triple fight broke out. With Matt Carkner, Chris Neil and Jarko Ruutu  lining up against Sean O’Donnell, Jody Shelley  and Scott Hartnell respectively. In all, 126 minutes in penalties  were handed out in the game.

A few positives.

Milan Michalek  continued his strong play of late with another goal tonight. In the last ten games, Michalek has recorded seven points to tie him for second in team scoring. Seeming to have gotten his speed back, Michalek showed it as he broke out for his shorthanded break-a-way goal.

Nick Foligno  had another good game as he scored a goal and defended his teammate by dropping the gloves with Claude Giroux. With five points in his last five games, Foligno as been the Sensators best forward lately.

Too many negatives.

Brian Elliott  looks lost out there. Getting no support, you feel bad for the kid as he can’t get a break with Pascal Leclaire out and no capable back-up to relieve him. I have no idea why Coach Clouston left him in there for all six goals. You have to build him up, not tear him down more. Still, I don’t know what Elliott was thinking on the first, third and sixth goal.

Filip Kuba  had a decent game against the Ducks Tuesday night but followed that up with a horrendous game tonight. Playing just over 14 minutes, Kuba is doing nothing out there on the ice. He is now in the sixth defenceman position and is in danger of sitting in the press box with the strong play of Brian Lee.

Fight Club Links: (courtesy of HockeyFights.com)

Nick Foligno vs. Claude Giroux

Jesse Winchester vs. Jeff Carter

Jarko Ruutu vs. Scott Hartnell   &   Chris Neil vs. Jody Shelley 

In the Doghouse.

Peter Regin  has now been a healthy scratch for the last two games. Clouston feels his team has a better chance of winning the game with seven defencemen rather than have a full line-up of forwards. With so much hope coming into the season, Regin has done nothing this year.

Here are the Game Highlights courtesy of NHL.com. 

***Three Stars***

First Star: Mike Richards – With two goals and two assists, Richards showed how to captain an NHL team.

Second Star: Chris Pronger– Had a strong game in his first game back from injury. With two assists tonight, Pronger played a steady game and showed that he still got it.

Third Star: Daniel Briere– With a goal and an assist tonight, Briere proved why he should have been chosen to go to the All-Star game.

With this being their fourth loss in a row, Ottawa has no time to think about this loss as they return home to face an injury-riddled Habs team Friday night. Already in the Northeast basement, Ottawa could play the role of spoiler as Montreal is fighting it out for the last playoff spot in the East. Who starts in net will be the biggest question going into Friday’s game. ‘Til next time, GO SENS GO!!!!!

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